New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith answers questions after football practice in Florham Park, N.J. Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, after being named the starting quarterback. / Mel Evans, AP

by Kristian Dyer, Special for USA TODAY Sports

by Kristian Dyer, Special for USA TODAY Sports

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. â?? When Geno Smith won the New York Jets quarterback battle by default on Wednesday, the announcement all but signaled what everyone pretty much knew: The Jets have conceded the season and are in rebuilding mode.

It also likely ends incumbent Mark Sanchez's four years as the Jets starter. Sanchez has told people around him that he fears the Jets will put him on injured reserve and, in essence, end his Jets career -- while the team moves on with Smith.

"I'm ready. I don't think I've been rushed. I don't think they'd put me out there if they didn't think I wasn't ready," Smith said. "I've been preparing my butt off, and that is something that will continue to improve. My preparation will never change. I will go out there with the intent to have a great game."

For those wondering what Smith faces, the first half of the season looks like this: After the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday, the Jets play at New England in a short week, then host the Buffalo Bills, play at the Tenneseee Titans, at the Atlanta Falcons, host the Pittsburgh Steelers and Patriots, then travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.

There aren't many gimmes there for a rookie quarterback.

The Jets' second-round pick in this past spring's draft, Smith has had a rocky preseason, with an ankle injury in the first game, a practice coach Rex Ryan called "brutal," and three interceptions and a safety in a preseason game against the New York Giants.

But with Sanchez still not practicing or throwing because of an injury to his right shoulder, the Jets made the obvious call to start Smith. In doing so, they probably are waving a white flag on the season and grooming their quarterback of the future.

The announcement was made on the Jets team website, a rare switch for an organization that has battled leaks over the past few years. Smith said he was told he was the starter during the morning meeting with quarterbacks coach David Lee.

Ryan is asking his team to rally around a young quarterback who might be playing only because Ryan inserted Sanchez into a meaningless preseason game and the quarterback was injured.

"We realize that as a team, a rookie quarterback and all that is certainly a challenge -- the fact that we're playing (former Jets cornerback) Darrelle Revis and those two stud safeties and all that," Ryan said. "It will be challenging.

"I think our guys are ready to rally behind Geno. The big thing that we told Geno is to be part of the solution. I've always said it: Quarterbacks just go out and play the position. Be part of the solution. Don't think you have to carry this team on your back. That's not the case."

PHOTOS: Jets QB battle

Meanwhile, the Jets insist there's no guarantee Smith will keep the job, although it's unlikely Sanchez, a lame-duck with the organization, would get his job back.

"Our focus is strictly on this game," Ryan said. "So whether week-to-week, I don't know, what the heck, we're not thinking past Tampa. This whole team is not thinking past Tampa in anything."

For the Jets' veteran players, it could be a frustrating to have a rookie under center. Kellen Winslow was a free agent signed during minicamp, and he came to a team when Sanchez apeared the likely starter. Now, Winslow will have a rookie throwing him the ball.

"I don't care who is in there. You've got your job to do. It's hard to worry about another man's job when you've got your job to do," Winslow said. "All we can do is be there for him and up our game a little bit for him so he feels comfortable."

In the Jets' third preseason game, Smith was unsettled and harried in the pocket. He threw from his toes, forced passes and had difficulty reading coverages.

First year general manager John Idzik, who inherited Sanchez from the previous regime, said giving the job to Smith is not throwing the season away.

"I don't use the term rebuilding, I use the term building," he said. "In the National Football League, you're always building. Rebuilding, to me, gives the connotation that you're ripping something apart and you're a ground-up type deal.

"We don't look at it that way. We look at it that we're going to be competitive in everything we do. How we play, how we practice, how we prepare, how we go about building each position. So it's a building process, not a rebuilding process."

Idzik was asked if Sanchez has a shot at reclaiming the job. He tried to sound believable with his response.